In my older PCT patent application WO 85/03643 corresponding to U.S. Pat. No. 796.018 published Aug. 29, 1985, there is disclosed a cross-country ski binding for cross-country ski boots which have, at their front sole end, engagement elements which correspond with and can be inserted into engagement elements of the ski binding to produce a pivot connection. The ski binding has a U-shaped clip for securing the front sole end against lifting off the ski-binding engagement elements, the legs of which clip are mounted pivotably about a transverse axis by their free ends to side jaws of the ski binding, which are fixed to the ski, and which clip is loaded by a spring in the direction toward a position engaging over the front sole end by its web portion, and further has a spring-loaded locking lever, which can engage behind a catch projection of the ski binding by means of a latch and can thereby hold the U-shaped clip in an open position.
In the case of this cross-country ski binding according to the patent application mentioned above, the U-shaped clip can be hooked in at will on the baseplate of this ski binding by means of the locking lever, enabling the ski binding to assume a fixed open position. This facilitates introduction of the ski boot into the ski binding. The clip is brought into its position engaging over the front sole end, and thus fixing the ski boot in the ski binding, by the ski boot being raised in the manner of a walking movement after its introduction, until the upper side of the front sole end comes into contact with the web portion of the clip, after which further swinging of the ski boot takes the clip with it and causes the hooking of the locking lever on the baseplate to be automatically released. The cross-country ski binding is thus in its ready -for-use state.